We Are The Champions

Infinity Cat Recordings;
2011

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Nashville's JEFF the Brotherhood are two brothers, Jamin and Jake Orrall. One's on guitar and vocals; the other mans the drums. They also co-run Infinity Cat Recordings with their father, singer/songwriter Robert Ellis Orrall, the only man in the world that can say he wrote songs for Shenandoah and Lindsay Lohan. JEFF's been an ongoing concern since 2002, but the brothers Orrall have logged time in plenty of bands, including the earliest incarnation of Be Your Own Pet. Like Pet, JEFF was fond of the fuzzy spastic two-to-three-minute punk-pop tune, but they were also fond of being unpredictable. Jamin and Jake were just as likely to say their peace in 30 seconds as they were to stretch things out for 14 minutes.

After numerous tours and releases, 2009's Heavy Days saw the Orralls focusing their powers and presenting themselves as an economy-sized psych-rock outfit, an Eagles of Death Metal with one less mouth to feed and a lot more pot in the glove compartment. Big and heavy but still quick on its feet, Heavy Days was a step forward that could please both longtime fans and those new to the party.

That said, anyone who's been tracking the moves the Orralls have made might be thrown off a bit by the way We Are the Champions kicks off, and I'm not talking about the rap-radio-exclusive airhorn that sounds off at the start of "Hey Friend". It's the song proper, and its remarkable similarity to what good Weezer sounds like, which might surprise. Everything about the tune-- its loping mid-tempo cadence, Jake Orrall's Cuomo-like vocals, even the tune's simple-simon sentiments ("I've been thinking about your mom/ You can tell me if it's really wrong")-- makes it sound like a Weezer Blue Album demo. Some might see that as a step backwards for JEFF, but I mean that comparison as a complement. The tune's aw-shucks silliness is as charming as its earworm of a melody is inescapable.

There's a fair amount of Heavy Days' brand of amp damage to be found on Champions-- you'll want to skip to "Cool Out" or "Ripper" to get that fix-- and one sitar-flecked tune ("Health and Strength") that'd fit right in on a Thee Oh Sees album, but the aforementioned poppier M.O. is the way the majority of this album goes. "Bummer" was JEFF's contribution to a split single with Best Coast, but plenty of tunes from Champions, from the gently rumbling "Diamond Way" to the awkwardly confident "Wastoid Girl", could stand toe-to-toe with anything Best Coast had to offer. It's only fitting that this album signals the beginning of a business partnership between Infinity Cat and the Warner Music Group. We Are the Champions might disappoint some diehard fans, but it's also proof positive that JEFF the Brotherhood can play with the big boys.